MSI's Fusion-powered X370 laptop gets $579 price tag, hits Amazon and Newegg

 By Dana Wollman posted Apr 14th 2011 4:34PM Our story about MSI's X370 ultraportable getting a dose of AMD Fusion ended on a cliffhanger -- the company stopped short of revealing just how much the thing would cost. Well, now we have our answer: this 13.4-incher comes with a $599 price tag and is up for grabs on Newegg. (Amazon already cut the price to $579, but isn't shipping it just yet.) For the money, that sub-$600 sticker includes AMD's new Zacate E-350 APU, 4GB of RAM, integrated Radeon HD 6310 graphics, a 500GB hard drive, a 4-in-1 memory card reader, HDMI and VGA output, a 1.3 megapixel webcam, and an 8-cell battery that MSI claims can last up to ten hours. While it earlier seemed that consumers would get their pick of hard drives and batteries, it's available in just one configuration for now -- not that you would have been tempted to downgrade to a 4-cell, anyway.

Sleek and Energy Efficient MSI X370 Notebook Powered by the AMD Accelerated Processor Arrives in North America

MSI Expands Partnership with Boston-Based Nonprofit Smallbean to Help Bridge Technology Gap with Donation of Notebooks for Self Sustaining PC Labs in Tanzania

CITY OF INDUSTRY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--MSI Computer Corp., a leading manufacturer of computer hardware products and solutions, today announced that it is now shipping its X370 notebook. This 13.4" notebook is powered by the efficient AMD Dual-Core E-350 APU platform, which helps this unit achieve up to ten hours of battery life and at the same time delivers exceptional graphics performance.

"The MSI X370 is the perfect design for our use in areas where energy is scarce. You can't use just any notebook in these conditions. This project is coming to life because of the functionality that MSI created in its X Series notebooks."

From the svelte design of this 3.1 pound unit, the MSI X370 notebook delivers a fully immersive HD multimedia entertainment experience powered by AMD Radeon? HD 6310 Discrete-Class graphics with Microsoft? DirectX? 11 support. Additionally, the notebook's power saving LED backlit display provides bright color and enhances the overall picture quality while extending battery life.

With the launch of the X370, MSI is also expanding its support for Smallbean, a Boston-based non-profit that helps cross the digital divide by bringing technology to the developing world. By donating ten X-Series notebooks to their effort, MSI is supporting the creation of an innovative educational and cultural hub in a rural community in Tanzania. The Smallbean ESCARGO prototype computer lab will be self-sufficient: it will generate revenue to support its operation through the rental of battery units to the community powered by excess solar capacity from solar panels on its own roof.

"The solar power captured on the roof of our computer lab in Tanzania charges the notebooks and provides clean, renewable energy for the village," commented Sean Hewens, founder and executive director of Smallbean. "The MSI X370 is the perfect design for our use in areas where energy is scarce. You can't use just any notebook in these conditions. This project is coming to life because of the functionality that MSI created in its X Series notebooks."

"We designed the X370 for those who want a fully functioning notebook in a compact form, with long battery life," noted Andy Tung, vice president of sales for MSI US. "Most of us think of battery life in terms of convenience: time away from our office or power cord. It's innovators like Smallbean that remind us that longer battery life also means using less power, which is what truly makes a difference in rural areas, and around the world."

Specs for the X370 X-Slim notebook (MSRP $599.99) can be found here: http://www.msimobile.com/level3_productpage.aspx?cid=4&id=293, and the unit is available for purchase on Newegg.com and Amazon.com. For more information, please visit http://www.msimobile.com/.